GP Veterinary Services

26/12/2023

Goodness me I'm useless with social media! It's been a busy year with work and life. We move to Wellington next year but still will be doing some work in Palmy so reach out to see if I can help.

Thank you everyone for your support, have a wonderful holiday season!

15/08/2022

Acupuncture is not invasive and may do your pet a world of good! Check out this article about a vet clinic in China with a busy acupuncture schedule.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/beijings-pet-lovers-turn-acupuncture-treat-their-furry-friends-2879416

BEIJING: Strapped in tight, the prone poodle nervously eyes the vet as he gently sticks fine needles into its back and paws, summoning the ancient art of acupuncture to treat the pet's aches and pains. Duniu is just one of a growing number of animals being signed up for traditional medicine in China...

29/06/2022

I had some fun with a really cool case today, fingers crossed that Dream has a lovely litter the next time she gets pregnant!

26/06/2022

When you're too chicken to be a musher but your dog wants to fly, what do you do? Outsource it.

13/05/2022

What do you do when you're on holiday back home in Singapore? Visit your beautiful friend and put some needles in her lovely old boy. Totally normal thing to do on holiday, right?

09/03/2022

Not acupuncture related but we are selling a carrot to support Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand Make your bid at this link and Carrotangelo's David could be yours!

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/antiques-collectables/ornaments-figurines/other/listing/3504239366?bof=eEP0eaZN

The brain child of a school gardening club, David was lovingly planted in the veggie patch and was allowed to grow and thrive for a period of 80 days (or, as th...

02/03/2022

An amazing opportunity to work with TCI Glenbred! I do some work with them and Dr Murphy is a fabulous employer.

TCI GlenBred is a veterinary practice dedicated to advanced canine reproduction services and genetic health testing. We are a small team of two (for now!), with a huge potential for growth. We are proud to offer ethical breeding services and the senior clinician Dr Becky also sits on the NZ Veterina...

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas everyone! We made an acupuncture Christmas tree on Diesel to celebrate, complete with tangled twinkly light wires. 😁

14/11/2021

This is my cat. She's a cranky old lady who will not tolerate acupuncture, I value my life and limbs too much to push it .. So we do low level light therapy to help with her arthritic hips and she loves it! Contact us if you think your pet may benefit from this treatment!

05/11/2021

It's like finding a needle in a spitz-stack! Can you believe there are nearly 20 needles in Toby (you might be able to see one on his forehead)? He came in for his first acupuncture session today and had dry needles and electro acupuncture. Toby enjoyed it so much he even had a little nap. What a good doggo! If you want to say hi to Toby, you can find him hanging out at Embroidery.

08/10/2021

Guess what I've been up to! Acupuncture services are still on and we will be collaborating on an in house study on whether acupuncture in dogs can help increase fertility. Get in touch if you think your dog can benefit from this!

“You may have already met Dr Prabz, she is our vet in AI training and has been working with Dr Becky.

Dr Prabz graduated from the University of Sydney in 2008 and has worked in Singapore and New Zealand. She practices both Eastern and Western veterinary medicine, is a certified vet acupuncturist and now will be doing vet AI!

In her practically non existent free time, Dr Prabz wrangles her 3 children, plants too many seeds and gives seedlings to everyone she knows and reads anything she can get her hands on. “

I am so, so happy to have Prabz on board. She has been super quick to learn the TCI technique, collections and thaws, so when i am away from time to time, her and Chrissy will take excellent care of you.

26/08/2021

Happy International Dog Day! We celebrate this day to raise awareness of the many animals in shelters who need homes.

Here is our Burfi, adopted from SPCA (Manawatu) in 2019. She holds a big place in our hearts (and on the couch).

24/08/2021

We love seeing you and your dogs walk past our place! We can't offer acupuncture services at Level 4 but drop us a note at [email protected] if you have any questions on what we do.

Stay safe, everyone!

07/07/2021

The amazing Rhea Hurley from Vet Smart is still looking for her lovely Luna. Please like her page and share this, let's get the word out!

04/07/2021

We were out vetting in the field this weekend with an amazing group of athletic and well loved dogs and their wonderful owners. Thank you, Ridge Runners Sled Dog Racing Club for having us!

The Waitarere Howler race weekend has come and gone and it was truly an exciting weekend. With freezing temperatures, all teams had brilliant conditions to run and enjoy the trails. Having some warm drinks and nibbles certainly helped to keep the chill at bay in between the classes :-)
But the race could not have happened without you, the teams and competitors! Thanks for coming to the race and making it a special event.
Huge thank you goes also to our long time sponsor Nature's Ki - Pet Wellbeing and we were exciting to welcoming Lily Mihaila our regional Nature's Ki representative. She bravely faced the early convoy to come to the race and experience sled dog racing for her first time. We had some really good talks about the importance of dog nutrition and high quality ingredients, and it just highlighted why the club keeps coming back to Nature's Ki - Pet Wellbeing.

A big thank you also to our IFSS International Race Judge Gabriele Altermann who was tirelessly keeping an eye on everything and did an amazing job of keeping the race event going smoothly.
Thanks also to Bob Storey our NFSSS Race Marshal, our wonderful timekeepers Heather Wald, Helena Horswell, Marilyn Storey

We were very lucky having an on-site vet again this year - Prabhpreet Kaur has been bitten by the sled dog bug and not only is very interested in sled dogs but also runs her own dog! And if you every have a dog with a pulled muscle or similar, Prabz is very experienced with dog acupuncture.

Thanks to Courtney Syverston and Rachel Syverston for very kindly offering to bring the hot water in on Sunday, super appreciated!

Also thanks to Caitlin Moffat, Mel Ellis, Reagan Macmillan and Henrikus Swart for being such a great help in the race preparations and throughout the event, always being there to giving a helping hand and see what needs to get done.

A very special thank you goes out to both Marc Shane Winterburn and Suzanne Tutana Savage Winterburn for being an incredible help during the race preparation, during and after the race, and for their most generous donations behind the scenes. Thank you! Marc, I hope your shoulder will heal well and in no time at all. It was such a shame that Marc got knocked out after having such fantastic runs - it feels really good having competition breathing down your neck :-D

One of the exciting things that happened during price giving was the surprise award ceremony for our IFSS International Federation of Sleddog Sports competitors to recognise their achievements during the very difficult 2020-2021 Covid-affected race season. Thank you to IFSS Oceania for making this extra effort and acknowledging the teams.

And finally, a big thank you to all the teams who helped breaking down the staging area after the race - it made such a difference and we got home while the sun was still up :-)

Last, but most certainly not least, we want to thank both our event photographers, Teresa Angell Photography and Mel Jane... looking forward to seeing all the shots soon ❤️

Phew, I think this really wraps up Ridge Runners Sled Dog Racing Club first race weekend of 2021 - I am sure that the RGO will be looking forward to preparing and hosting the main race event in 4 weeks' time, after we have all recovered a bit and caught up on some sleep :-D
Balto says "hi" to everyone and is looking forward to being out on the trails again at the next race weekend.

26/05/2021

Worried about your cat? Watch this short clip to see if your cat may have joint pain. Cats are really good at hiding pain so the signs may be more subtle than dogs.

18/05/2021

Lovely Mya ruptured her cruciate ligament and was not able to bear weight on her left hind leg. Unfortunately, she is not a candidate for surgery. We have been working with her very dedicated owners and through a combination of acupuncture, pain relief and physiotherapy, we have managed to get her walking on all 4 legs again!

Nalbec Racing Siberian Huskies

11/05/2021

The only reason the whole family is happy to get up early on a weekend morning is to go for sled dog training. Here is our oldest, contained securely in the rig, going for a ride with 6 enthusiastic racing huskies who can't wait to get going!

Ridge Runners Sled Dog Racing Club

02/03/2021

Water is the final personality trait in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Animals with water personalities are very loving with their own family but tend to be worried or fearful around anything new, including other animals, situations or people. They may bite, panic or even wet themselves when afraid! They take a long time to warm up to new situations and need lots of gentle encouragement and positive reinforcement to help them.

The organs associated with water are the kidney and bladder, which in turn control the bones, hearing and go**ds, among other things. When imbalanced, these animals are prone to pain in their lower back or hips, infertility, oedema, urinary issues, deafness, panic attacks or kidney issues.

20/02/2021

Vale Dakota!

Farewell to a favourite floof 🕊🐾

Dakota, one of our favourite police patrol dogs, has died just three weeks into her retirement from Wellington Police Dog Section.

The near 8-year-old German Shepherd worked from April 2015 to January 2021 in Wellington – most of it with handler Stu Rota, now a Sergeant in Gisborne.

For the last 12 months she’s worked with Wellington colleague Senior Constable Sam Bennett.

After her operational vest and harness came off for the last time, Dakota went north to Gisborne to be reunited with Sergeant Rota for what was hoped to be a happy retirement.

Sadly, that came to an end on Friday when Dakota became very unwell, was taken to the vets and died last night (Friday). She had been diagnosed with Addison’s disease several years ago but this was managed with medication and it didn’t stop her from leading a very active operational patrol dog life.

Whether her condition shortened her retirement is not yet clear, but we do know she enjoyed being reunited with her old partner.

“I’m gutted she’s gone,” Sergeant Rota says. “She loved every minute being at home, her daily walks along the beach, and hanging out with us. We’ll all miss her.”

Dakota was his third operational dog after Link and Yarko, and was an exceptional dog. The pair finished seventh in the 2018 Police Dog National Championships, and she tracked and made hundreds of catches over the years.

The plucky canine didn’t just rely on paw power – Dakota wowed the Wings Over Wairarapa crowd when winched from a RNZAF NH90 helicopter and was used to travelling by boat as part of training for her specialist skills in responding to armed incidents.

Dakota’s friendly face was known far beyond Wellington. She and Stu Rota featured in four Dog Squad tv series, and she’s a famous Police Dog Trust Calendar girl starring in award winning photos, most taken by Senior Constable Jane Dunn, a forensic photographer with Wellington Police.

Thank you Dakota for your pawsome service 💙🐕

18/02/2021

Metal personalities are generally quiet and independent. They are very analytical of situations and may seem standoffish but are actually just assessing things before they decide whether to join in. They thrive on rules and order, doing especially well when they have a job and a set routine. They tend to be quite athletic and easy to train.

The element of metal is associated with the Lung and Large intestines, and has a major influence on skin, pores and nose. An imbalanced metal animal will be prone to skin or respiratory system issues and can have a weakened immune system as well. For example, they may get coughs, asthma, nasal congestion or generalised skin issues. They may also get constipation, crusting on the nose, nasal discharge or pneumonia.

Metal animals are also prone to grief or sadness. This is especially so when they have a break to their routine or have large changes in their lives. Grieving animals tend to be down, less enthusiastic about their favourite things and may be more clingy than normal.

09/02/2021

Earth dogs are outgoing but also need some time to themselves. They are caring and loving animals in general with a happy and laid back personality. Their greatest desire is to be with their humans and they are happy to follow along with whatever their humans want to do. They love to eat and can be prone to putting on weight. They tend to have a sturdy body with strong muscles as well.

According to Chinese medicine, the organs associated with the Earth system are the spleen and stomach. The term spleen, in this case, is more closely associated to digestive functions rather than then Western organ. The flow of Qi, defense of the body and muscular strength is regulated by the spleen.

When out of balance, the spleen is sensitive to damp as a pathogen. If damp is allowed to stay in the body for too long, it can turn into phlegm (which is any abnormal substance or growth in the body, like a tumour). Dampness in the GI tract can result in slow gut movement, which can result in abdominal pain, bloating, colic, constipation and pain. Earth animals are prone to gastrointestinal disorders in general as well as uterine or re**al prolapse issues. As the spleen is in charge of muscle tone as well, imbalance in the spleen can lead to weakness or muscle loss as well.

31/01/2021

Fire animals are social and full of life. They love to talk and will shower you with affection whenever they meet you. They try to be the centre of attention at all times and want to play constantly. They thrive on pleasing their owners so will try to do what is right. However, they do have short attention spans and can be easily frightened due to their sensitive natures.

The fire element looks after the heart, small intestine and triple heater (which has no translation in western medicine, but is in charge of moving body fluids and nutrients). The heart is also the seat of the mind in Chinese medicine.

Fire animals tend to have imbalances to do with heat, often starting in the warmer months of the year. They are prone to ulcerations on their tongues, diarrhoea, constipuation, restlessness, sleep issues and cardiovascular diseases. They tend to burn up their yin energy and can have shorter lifespans as a result.

If you feel your pet is showing signs of cardiac disease or feel they may have a fire personality that is imbalanced, contact us to see how we can help.

25/01/2021

Now that you know your pet’s personality type, let’s talk about what happens when they lose internal balance.

Wood animals are confident, assertive, athletic and eager to win. The wood element is associated with the liver and gall bladder, which manage detoxification of the body and directing the nutrients and energy to the correct places in the body. Losing balance in the liver system can lead to hepatitis or gall bladder stones. You may also see issues with tendons, ligaments and the feet of the animal, as well as more serious conditions like seizures.

Wood animals can have a personality change when they are unwell and can get aggressive or angry, even with people they are familiar with or animals they are normally friends with. They are prone to being stressed and thrive with routine and consistency.

Contact us if you feel your pet is a wood animal and has personality changes that could indicate and underlying condition.

16/01/2021

Toilet training has to be one of the most frustrating parts of raising a puppy, right?

Luckily, we're here to help. Say goodbye to sleep ins and hello to pet odour eliminators!

Learn the tricks of the toilet training trade here, for the sake of your poor carpet: http://ow.ly/K44450D6Y7F